Tattered Wings
by DeathTheRabbit
Summary: Sachiko saves a beautiful girl one day, and the favor is returned five years later.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"_Hah! You can't catch me!" A pink haired girl ducked below the arm of her caretaker, and made a break for the cliff overlooking the sea._

"_Hime-sama, get back here right this instant! Sachiko-hime!"_

_Sachiko ignored the calls of her caretaker and dove off the edge of the cliff. With a burst of chakra, large, feathered wings erupted from the matching tattoos on her back and she caught an updraft that lifted her into the sky._

_She glanced back only once at the enormous island floating in the sky that she called home. Her caretaker was struggling to keep up with her flight, not having the speed or maneuverability that she did._

_Sachiko soared fast towards the land attached to the sea, her wings only beating when she realized that she was not quite high enough to clear the trees._

_Her wings shimmered in the morning light, the pastel pink and blue hues catching in the light. She would have been clearly noticed by those on the ground, had they not already been engaged in battle with each other._

_On the ground, a blue haired girl around her own age stood defensively in front of two boys who had been defeated and now lay unconscious. One hand clutching her side and the other holding a kunai, she glared fiercely at the five larger shinobi that were advancing on her._

_Sachiko had never been one to sit back idly and watch things happen, and so she changed course and dove down sharply like a bird of prey that had caught sight of its next meal._

_Barely fifteen feet from the ground, she tucked her wings close against her back and fell the rest of the way, landing in a graceful crouch in front of the blue haired girl. She rose to her feet and gave the advancing shinobi a feral grin._

_Behind her, the girl gasped in surprise and stumbled backwards. "An angel…?" Her awed whisper barely reached Sachiko's ears._

_Sachiko could not help but blush, and she glanced back with a smile. She had forgotten that she was still wearing the jewels that denoted her rank. "Put your hand back on that injury, okay?"_

_She turned her attention back to the shinobi in front of them and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you sure you're ready to face the crown princess of the skies in battle?" Even if they said no, she knew she would have to kill them now because they had seen her wings. No one would believe the blue haired girl if she claimed to have seen a girl with wings, but five shinobi was another story._

_Whatever shock the five shinobi had felt didn't show, because a moment later they all, except for one, vanished into puffs of smoke to hiding places nearby so that they could watch the girl._

_Sachiko focused her attention on the one remaining shinobi in front of her and slowly walked towards him. "I find it deplorable that you would gang up on a couple of shinobi that are clearly not at your skill level. Don't worry, though, because karma is a bitch and I'm here to settle the score." She cracked her knuckles and retrieved a kunai from her pouch._

_The battle was over before it even began; Sachiko had struck before the shinobi even had an opportunity to move, her kunai gliding across his throat with practiced ease. Blood splattered across the ground, and Sachiko flipped backwards into the sky to defend the blue-haired girl and her unconscious companions from the other four shinobi that had moved in for the kill._

_Sachiko's wings whipped up a powerful gale, sending three of the shinobi flying in separate directions, laced with devastating wounds from the force of her winds. They would not be getting up again._

_A handful of shuriken came flying at her from the last remaining shinobi, and she shielded the blue-haired girl and her companions with one wing, while throwing her kunai with deadly accuracy, the blade penetrating the shinobi's throat, while his shuriken burrowed into her wing._

_Once she was certain that the enemy shinobi were dead, Sachiko relaxed and plucked the shuriken from her wing, frowning at the large feather that came loose with them. It was only a feather, so she supposed it didn't matter all that much._

"_You…" The blue-haired girl spoke finally, and Sachiko turned to face her. "Who are you…?"_

"_Here's the deal, beautiful, I don't want to kill you for seeing me. So, what's gonna happen is, you're gonna promise to never speak a word of this to anyone, and I'll pretend that I got caught in a tree." She gestured towards the ruffled feathers on the wing she had just pulled the shuriken from. "Deal?"_

_The blue-haired girl nodded slowly, staring at Sachiko with amber eyes widened in awe. "Deal." She said softly. "Thank you."_

_Sachiko offered her a grin before she launched herself back into the sky, a few feathers coming loose from her wing and floating down to the spot she had occupied moments before. She glanced back at the girl once before turning back to her home, not wanting her caretaker to catch her too close to the scene she had just left._

_For days after that, she thought about the beautiful blue-haired girl she had saved, not realizing that five years later they would meet again under reversed circumstances._

* * *

Chains rattled against the cold stone floor as Sachiko was dragged from her tiny cell, light spilling into the room from a single candle.

Sachiko snarled at her captor, shoving him away and standing tall. "I can walk." Her voice was hard as flint, and her eyes colder than the glacier farthest to the north that she had once flown to with her mother.

Even after four years of captivity, she had never lost her pride or her strong will to survive. Even in chains, she walked with dignity, as if she weren't bruised and broken and unable to even free herself.

"Keep acting like that, and you won't be able to for long!" Her captor snarled, shoving her against the wall so hard that her head cracked against the cold stone.

"Just so you know, when I get out of these chains, I'm going to cut your heart out while you're still alive." Sachiko promised, her voice deadly soft as she was shoved down the dark hall, towards whatever new hell was awaiting her.

"Threaten me all you like, you'll never be free of these chains. Doesn't matter which village you get bought by, you'll never be free. What's like to be wanted only for your use as a weapon?" Her captor smirked from beneath his hood.

Sachiko stayed silent, walking with the pride she refused to give up, never showing a trace of her fear or exhaustion. It was all she had left now, and she would be damned if she would let anyone take that from her as well.

They finally came to a door, which opened into a large stage, where other people were all lined up, wearing chains like she was.

The line up ranged of several sorts of people; some were like her, including a little boy that she had been taking care of throughout the duration of her captivity, Kaii, and another older woman, who could hardly use her chakra well enough to summon her wings; the others were assortment of outcasts with strange kekkei genkais, including an Uchiha and a Kaguya.

Many of them were low level shinobi, overwhelmed by the sheer number of rogue nin that had come after them for their unique gifts and talents. Others were merely civilians that had tried to distance themselves from shinobi as much as they could, only to find themselves in the grasp of someone who would sell them for their unique talents.

Sachiko was different. In an attempt to establish themselves among the Five Great Shinobi Countries, her village had proposed a marriage between herself and a high-ranking shinobi from one of the lands, which she could not even remember the name of, in secret. It had been a trick, and the shinobi a liar, who had barely managed to restrain and sell her like some sort of rare animal.

When she spotted the little boy standing on the furthest side of the stage, she made her way over to him, ignoring her captor's protests. She wouldn't be separated from him, no matter how hard they tried to do so.

She stopped next to him and stood still, overlooking the audience, or rather, their potential buyers. Many of the faces in the crowd were ones that she recognized; many of them being previous potential buyers that hadn't found what they wanted in previous sales.

Sachiko knew she didn't have to worry about the familiar faces. If they had wanted something like her, they would've bought her or Kaii the first time.

Several more potential buyers straggled in through the door in the very back of the room, taking their seats. More faces that she didn't recognize, and more chances that she would be separated from Kaii.

"And now, we'll start the bidding." A short woman with perfectly done makeup and a voice as hard as steel spoke as she walked onto the stage. "For the Uchiha, we'll start at fifty thousand ryo."

Sachiko tuned out the sound of the woman's voice as the price went higher and higher, feeling bad for whatever hell the Uchiha was going to go through once he'd been sold. As always, she was more focused on searching for any opportunity to set herself and Kaii free, and the others if she could manage it.

There was never a chance to escape; the place was always too well guarded, and with no access to her chakra, Sachiko lacked her greatest weapon. Her strength, while still impressive, had been drastically cut because of the conditions she'd been kept in, and there were too many enemies to fight with just her fists anyway. Every time, it was a losing battle, and there was very little she could do about it.

A sound caught her attention, the sort of sound that was hard to miss if you weren't hoping to hear that very sound. It was distant, and barely audible over the voices in the room they were situated in, but it sounded very much like an explosion going off somewhere deep within the underground complex they'd been brought to.

Whoever it was, friend or foe, this was Sachiko's opportunity to get Kaii and herself out during the chaos. She just needed to take care not to act too quickly.

By this point, the short woman running the auction had moved down the line past the old woman and a little girl with curiously old eyes, to the Kaguya, who was shaking in his oversized boots.

"We'll start the bid for the Kaguya at two million ryo. Any takers?" The woman spoke flatly, blissfully unaware of the hell that was about to be unleashed on the room and everyone in it.

When the first blast came from directly to their left, debris flying in every direction, Sachiko had already moved, placing herself in front of Kaii to shield him from the flying rubble.

Sachiko awkwardly lifted Kaii into her arms, trying her best to work around the chains that connected her wrists together. "Hold on tight, little one." She whispered, blinking the dust out of her eyes.

Then she made a break for it, moving as quickly as she could with her chained ankles, towards the source of the blast. She knew this was her chance, while the dust was still thick in the air.

She didn't make it very far before her captor noticed what she was up to and tackled her to the ground, one hand grabbing her by the hair, and the other trying to rip Kaii from her arms with little luck.

"Let me go, you son of a bitch!" Sachiko snarled, struggling against his grip as she kept both arms protectively around the scared four year old in her arms. Her snarls grew angrier when her captor yanked her head back enough for her neck to crack painfully, but not enough to break.

Sachiko jammed her elbow backwards into the man's gut, making him loosen his grip just enough for her to wiggle free. She shifted Kaii in her arms and then set him down once they were far enough from their captor, making him walk in front of her.

As the dust settled, she caught sight of the intruders. There were several of them, all belonging to Amegakure. Most of them she didn't recognize, having not had much contact with those outside her own village.

There were two, however, that she recognized from so many years before. The red-haired man that had been unconscious when she'd first seen him was a formidable opponent, and fast. But it was not him that had caught her attention.

Instead, it was the beautiful blue-haired woman that she had saved once upon a time.

* * *

hewwo, i suddenly revisited this abandoned idea i'd never posted and rewrote it! idk how long this will be but? i hope you all enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sachiko stared at the woman, caught off guard enough to stop in her tracks. She would recognize those distinctive orange eyes and blue hair tied into a neat bun, decorated with a simple paper flower anywhere. Though it was an incident that she hadn't thought about in years, she hadn't forgotten the girl she had saved, captivated by her beauty even then.

The distraction was enough for her captor to catch up to her, and she went tumbling to the ground again as her captor grabbed the chains connecting her ankles. She spun around to face him, eyes narrowed.

"Run, Kaii! Get out of here! I'll find you later!" Sachiko shouted at the little boy, waiting until he stumbled out of the chaos to turn her attention to her captor, who was trying to drag her back towards the door he had first brought her through.

Sachiko dragged one foot back as far as she could with chain and rammed it against the back of the man's knee as he tried to drag her, hitting him just hard enough for his leg to buckle. Then she yanked both feet backwards, ripping the chain connecting them from his hand.

She wasted no time in acting, launching herself for his throat, and wrapping the chain connecting her wrists around it. She yanked it back sharply, using every bit of her diminished strength to hold him in place as she strangled him. It hardly hurt when he clawed at her hands desperately, her own desperation and rage overpowering his.

The man struggled against her, pulling at the chain with one hand while he scrabbled for a kunai with the other. He eventually managed to grasp it, driving the blade backwards into her gut. It hardly had any effect on her, much to his horror and panic. It had been a last ditch effort to make her loosen her grip, and it had done nothing but make her constrict the chain tighter.

"I warned you." Sachiko bared her teeth, making sure he was unconscious before loosening her grip and letting him go. She reached down with trembling hands and grabbed the kunai, biting her lip to contain her pained grunt as she yanked it out of her gut. "I warned you that I'd cut your heart out while you're still alive."

Sachiko leaned over her captor, raising the kunai high with both hands, shaking from the effort it had taken to restrain him previously. She meant every word as she plunged the blade down towards his chest.

"Mama!" Kaii's voice stopped her, the blade hovering just a centimeter from her captor's chest. The panic in his little voice was enough to send her running, as much as she could with the chains around her ankles, for the little boy.

She spotted the short woman that had been controlling the auction trying to drag Kaii away with her, perfect hair and makeup completely wrecked. Clearly, she hadn't escaped the chaos well enough to maintain her perfect image, and the mad glint in her eye was enough to tell Sachiko that she was off the rails out of her mind.

"Kaii!" Sachiko dove between Kaii and the angry woman, throwing up her arms to defend against the kunai she tried to stab her with.

Blood splattered across the walls and floor as the blade carved a trail through both her arms and into the debris riddled ground.

As Sachiko struggled to sit herself back up to defend against the next frenzied swipe from the maddened woman, she found herself and Kaii closely shielded in what seemed to be a paper wing.

Standing between herself and the short woman, was the blue-haired woman, with her own beautiful paper wings. She glanced back at Sachiko, her beautiful orange eyes showing clear recognition despite the time that had passed, and the condition that she was in.

"Keep those wounds covered. I'll take over from here." The woman spoke, her voice clear and calm as she turned her attention back to the short feral woman that was already leaping for her.

Sachiko shifted her attention to the chains restraining her from actually helping, paying no mind to her injuries. If she could just get the chains off, she'd have access to her chakra again! The battle would be over in an instant if she could bring her wings out.

It was then that she realized that after these four years in captivity, her wings would be in a sorry state. Without the usual care that she took with maintaining them, they would be in shambles.

A hiss of frustration escaped her lips. She was never one to sit back and let herself be rescued. With a deep frown, she changed her plan; if she could cut the chains, she would be able to move more freely, even if the cuffs stayed on. She would still be without her chakra, but at least she would be able to properly defend herself and Kaii.

Sachiko adjusted the kunai in her hands, driving it down into one of the chain links in the chain that connected her ankles. Holding the pressure, she twisted the blade and snapped her feet out in opposite directions, relieved when the strain was enough for the link to snap.

Now she had more mobility, which was good in the long run. But when she looked up, she realized that she hardly needed to spare the effort; the short, angry woman and several of her cronies had fled, leaving only those too weak to flee and those already dead, as well as a few of the other prisoners, most of which had been injured in the battle.

Beside her, Kaii whimpered, crawling close to her and wrapping his little arms around her as much as he could. He shut his eyes and burrow his face against her shoulder, his cobalt blue hair, bright as a blue jay's feathers, hid all traces of his tears.

"Kaii, it's alright now." Sachiko whispered, wrapping one arm tightly around him. She dropped the kunai and began to pat his head. "You're safe."

"You're both safe." The blue-haired woman spoke up, turning to face them.

Sachiko glanced up and tilted her head. "I never expected to see you again, and I never would have thought it would be under circumstances like this." Her voice was soft as she slowly stood up, lifting Kaii into her arms. "Thank you for helping us. But now we have to go."

It wasn't that Sachiko thought they were going to hurt her or Kaii, but instead that she knew she needed to get home as soon as possible. She had been gone for four years without contact, and knew her village must be in uproar over her sudden loss of contact.

"You shouldn't be going anywhere by yourself with a wound like that." The blue-haired woman gestured towards the bloodstain that was rapidly growing from the place she'd been stabbed. "You can come with us, and we'll make sure you're taken care of."

"Konan, we should go back. Yahiko is waiting for us." The red-haired man came over slowly, a frown on his pale face.

The blue-haired woman, Konan, glanced back at her friend, giving him a slight nod. Then she offered her hand to Sachiko. "Come with us. We'll make sure you get home."

Sachiko studied Konan, tilting her head ever so slightly. "Get these cuffs off of me first, and we'll come with you." It was a little bit of a test; she wanted to see if they would allow her the freedom to use her chakra and manifest her wings. "He has the keys." She jerked her head towards her unconscious captor, who laid sprawled in the spot that she had left him just a few feet away.

Without a word, Konan went over to the man and searched for the keys, finding the keyring tucked away in his jacket pocket. She returned a moment later and undid the cuffs around Sachiko's ankles, and then the ones around her wrists, frowning at the welts that had been left by them.

Sachiko heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed. "Thank you." She felt much more comfortable now that she could feel her chakra again.

"Konan, who is this?" The red-haired man asked after a moment, tilting his head at the somewhat familiar way they treated each other.

"The one I told you about, Nagato." Konan replied after a moment.

Kaii peeked up from Sachiko's shoulder, glancing back nervously at Konan and Nagato with wide brown eyes. His gaze settled on the paper flower in Konan's hair.

"Kaii, you can't have it." Sachiko warned gently. "How about a feather, instead?" She glanced around, frowning a little, and finally decided to throw secrecy to the wind.

She gathered her chakra slowly, trying to get used to having access to it, and then manifested her wings from the pale pink and blue matching tattoos on her back.

Her wings, once beautiful, were tattered and emaciated, hardly resembling wings at all. The pale pinks and blues of her remaining feathers had mostly faded to an ashy grey from a lack of care. She reached around slowly and plucked one of the nicer feathers from her wing, ignoring the pinprick of pain, and handed it to Kaii.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." Sachiko asked, looking up at Konan and Nagato as she ignored the distinct dizziness that she knew came from blood loss.

Konan and Nagato both exchanged a glance before ushering Sachiko and Kaii out through the entrance they had created, leaving the rest of the Amegakure shinobi to clean up the mess and deal with the remaining prisoners that had been left behind.

Sachiko walked quickly, making sure not to show even a bit of her weakness. Her footsteps became unsteady once they finally made it out into the open air, fading sunlight shining down on them.

It had been so long since she had seen the sun, and she was momentarily startled by it. It gave her a sense of relief that she hadn't felt in such a long time.

She swayed on her feet, finding her dizziness just a little too much for her to handle. Before she knew it, Sachiko was falling, her vision fading to black as she lost consciousness. Her last sensation before everything faded away was of someone catching her before she hit the ground.

* * *

Sachiko woke up bathed in weak sunlight, and when she opened her eyes, she didn't recognize her surroundings.

Light streamed in through a window to her left, fading as clouds passed in front of the sun, and when she glanced around, she found that she had been buried in blankets on someone's bed.

As she sat up, a jolt of pain went through her abdomen. She glanced down, finding that her wound had been bandaged neatly, along with the welts around her wrists and the gashes that went down her arms. A frown crossed her face for a moment as she glanced at her wings, which had been carefully tended to.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. Wherever she was, she had been taken care of. She was safe for now.

It was then that she realized Kaii was nowhere in sight. Panic jolted through her, and she slowly untangled herself from the blankets, slipping off the bed carefully.

Her legs were still unsteady beneath her, but she didn't falter as she made her way over to the door, slowly opening it and peeking out into the hallway. Everything was quiet at first, until a peal of childish laughter came from down the hall. Kaii.

Sachiko frowned a little, slowly making her way down the hall. As she walked, she realized that there was very little personalization throughout the hall, as if the owner of the house or apartment didn't spend much time there.

When she reached the end of the hall, she was greeted with an odd sight. Sitting on the floor, folding little paper animals and flowers was Konan. She kept a close eye on Kaii as he leapt between pieces of furniture, his small blue wings, still too small and weak to support his weight, flapping wildly.

Kaii landed not so gracefully on one of the chairs and sat still for a moment, trying to process how he'd ended up faceplanting. Then he noticed Sachiko, his big brown eyes widening.

"Mama!" He leapt off the chair and came scampering over to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her leg.

Sachiko reached down and lifted Kaii into her arms carefully, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm here, little one." She gently stroked his hair, trying to reassure him that everything was alright.

Konan glanced up from her work, finishing the paper flower she was working on before getting up. "You're awake."

Glancing up at Konan, Sachiko nodded slightly. "I owe you one." She said softly, slowly making her way over to the taller woman slowly, her gaze never leaving Konan's beautiful orange eyes.

Sachiko set Kaii down on one of the chairs, stopping in front of Konan. She took her hand in both of her own bruised hands and lifted it up to her face, placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. "Consider that a token of my appreciation." She said softly.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, and both women glanced over to see Nagato looking particularly awkward about interrupting whatever had just happened. "Am I...interrupting?"

"No." Sachiko replied, offering him a smile. "I was just extending my heartfelt thanks." She slowly made her way over to him, her gaze never leaving his one visible purple eye. She took his hand in her own and repeated the action she had done with Konan. "Thank you both." She was unable to hide the mischief in her expression as Nagato's eye widened in surprise.

Behind her, Kaii giggled, rolling around on the chair. He had never been in such a safe environment before, and he was happier than Sachiko had ever seen him.

Sachiko turned around and crept over to Kaii in an exaggerated fashion, lifting him high into the air once she was close enough. "And how could I forget my most favorite person in the world!" She said delightedly, hugging him tight and planting a big kiss on his forehead.

Kaii giggled louder, wiggling in her arms. "Mamaaaaaaa! Stop it!" He laughed as Sachiko set him back down on the chair and tickled him.

After a moment, Sachiko stopped and ruffled his hair. "Be a good boy and stay put, alright? I've gotta talk to my new friends alone, okay?"

Once Kaii had nodded, Sachiko straightened up and turned to Konan and Nagato, following them when they took her into the kitchen.

"Look, I'm really appreciative of your help, but we need to get going now." Sachiko began, her wings folding neatly behind her back, the tips of her ragged feathers brushing against the ground. "Once I'm home, I'll send along something more to show my appreciation. I don't have anything on me right now. Everything was taken from me when I got caught, even my headband."

"Perhaps you should rest and regain your strength first." Konan suggested, studying her closely.

"I can't. I've been away from home for too long. And I have to find Kaii's parents." Sachiko lowered her voice a little, so that the little boy wouldn't overhear. "And I've never been one to sit still for too long."

"I thought he was yours." Nagato spoke up quietly, tilting his head.

"He is, in the sense that I've been taking care of him since he showed up in that place. I love him, and I would die for him, but somewhere out there, his birth parents are looking for him." Sachiko smiled faintly.

That was being optimistic. In reality, it was likely that his parents were dead or had abandoned him, otherwise the whole village would have been mobilized to search for him.

"I'm back." A new voice called from the front of the house, and Sachiko turned her attention in that direction, tilting her head.

A moment later, a man with orange hair stepped into the room, looking rather tired. His brown eyes widened just slightly when he saw that Sachiko was awake and acting as if she had not just spent four years in captivity.

Sachiko tilted her head, hardly surprised to find that she recognized this shinobi as Konan's other companion from the day she had saved them all those years ago. She turned her attention to Konan and smiled. "I'm glad that both of your friends ended up okay. Sorry, I couldn't stay longer to make sure you all would be alright."

"You did more than enough." Konan glanced at the orange haired man and Nagato, frowning just a little. "This is the one that I told you saved us, Yahiko, Nagato." She glanced at Sachiko, as if wondering if she would say anything about how she had broken their deal and told her friends about what had happened.

Sachiko smiled at her, tilting her head. "Don't worry, beautiful. I'm not mad that you told them about me after I asked you not to. The cat's out of the bag now, anyway. I doubt we're much of a secret anymore, by no fault of your own." She winked and turned her attention back to Yahiko and Nagato.

"What's your name?" Yahiko asked after a moment, going over to stand next to Nagato.

"Ah, sorry. I'm Sachiko. Princess of the village hidden in legend. The most beautiful woman in the sky. The thief of many a maiden's hearts. I have many names; those are just a few." She winked again, a smile playing across her lips.

The three Rain shinobi stared at her blankly, seeming to wonder if she was serious, and how she was so well composed after such an incident.

"I know I don't look like much right now." Sachiko smiled sheepishly. "I've been in quite a situation for some time, as I'm sure you've figured out, so it's been a little difficult to take care of myself. But anyway, that's not really what's important right now. I need to get going."

"You really should rest. We can send word to your village that you're safe." Yahiko spoke up, frowning.

Sachiko raised a pink eyebrow and tilted her head. "And how exactly do you plan on getting the message there? The only way up is by flying, and I imagine that sort of ability is hard to come by outside of my village." She spread her wings out wide to make her point, noting the way that Yahiko's eyes widened in a nearly imperceptible manner.

"With the state that your wings are in, I'm not certain you'll be able to get up there either." Konan said softly, reaching out to brush her fingers against Sachiko's rough feathers.

That thought hadn't occurred to Sachiko, and she frowned a little. It was true that her wings were in bad shape, but she didn't want to delay any longer.

However, if she couldn't even fly, then she wouldn't even have a chance of getting home without help. It was a difficult decision, but she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter until her wings grew strong enough to carry her weight again.

"Fine. Bring me a bird and I'll give it the coordinates so it can take a letter back home." Sachiko finally gave in, frowning. "But in the meantime, where will Kaii and I go? We have no money, and no one we can ask for help here."

The trio of Rain shinobi exchanged glances, as if silently asking each other about how to handle the situation. When they'd glanced back, it seemed as if they'd come to some kind of conclusion.

"Damn, can you guys just read each other's minds or something?" Sachiko couldn't help but ask, not realizing that it just took a close bond to be able to read each other that well. She'd never really had a close bond with anyone since her mother had died, so she wasn't quite sure she could understand.

"We've just known each other for a long time." Konan replied, frowning a little.

"The two of you can stay here for now." Yahiko said after Konan had replied to her question. "You'll be safe."

Sachiko nodded slightly and sighed. She was resigning herself to staying away from home for just a little bit longer. But as she glanced at Konan, she decided that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to stay with such a beautiful woman.

* * *

couldn't help myself with posting this chapter so soon after the first one! forgot to mention, but this is like almost completely canon divergent! anyway, hope you're enjoying this so far!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sachiko stood in front of the mirror, frowning at her reflection. She hardly recognized herself anymore. No longer was she the beauty that had sauntered around her village capturing everyone's hearts.

Dark circles shadowed her large blue eyes, and her pale face was gaunt and hollow, riddled with fading bruises. Even her endearing freckles were hard to notice under all the bruising. It didn't matter much to her, except in the fact that it felt as if she were looking at a stranger. It was worse than when she had been tortured for information during the civil war that had wreaked havoc through the floating island she called home.

Even her hair was hardly recognizable, although that was something she could fix herself, and planned on doing it the moment she found the scissors that Konan had told her were in the bathroom.

Letting out a sigh, Sachiko began going through the drawers until she finally managed to find the scissors. When she found them, she glanced back up at her reflection, frowning a little.

She was tired of long hair. It was too much effort, and since she would be staying awhile before returning home, she could do whatever she wanted with it and not have to face the consequences of her father's wrath for not following the traditions of her family.

Sachiko began to clip at her hair, taking care to cut it evenly. Already, a pile of pale pink hair was forming on the floor. She felt much lighter, much freer now.

By the time she was done cutting her hair, it was so short that it barely came down to the bottom of her ears. The unfortunate side effect of having cut her hair so short, however, was that her cowlick was completely obvious and impossible to control, the short spike of hair on the back of her head sticking straight up like an antenna.

"Ah, perhaps this is why we keep our hair long." Sachiko sighed, deciding that she didn't care all that much.

Sachiko cleaned up her mess, frowning a little. She was impatient to hear back from her village, though a little afraid to find out what her father would say.

It had been two weeks since she had given a messenger bird that Yahiko had provided the coordinates to her home village, and she had yet to hear back.

It wasn't the waiting that bothered her; it was the knowledge that, even though she'd done everything she was supposed to, her father would blame her for it. She didn't regret contacting her village simply for the fact that she knew most everyone would be relieved to see that she was safe, and that she still had a duty to perform as crown princess.

Sachiko had a feeling that her father would disown if he knew everything that had happened in the time that she had been in captivity, provided that he'd obtained the second heir that he had been trying for since before she had disappeared. Either way, her future was looking rather grim.

She decided not to dwell on it, as there was no point in worrying about things that had yet to come. She wasn't afraid of anything, anyway, except maybe letting people get too close to her. Every close relationship she'd had with another person, romantic, platonic, or familial, had ended in tragedy, and she wasn't one to repeat mistakes that had the potential to end in such a way, except in the case of Kaii.

Once she had cleaned up her mess, Sachiko made her way out of the bathroom and out to where Kaii was playing with paper animals in the living room. A faint smile crossed her lips when she saw the smile on Kaii's face. It was a relief to see him so happy.

She spotted Konan and Nagato watching Kaii closely, as if making sure he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself with a spurt of energy.

"Konan, will you help me with something?" Sachiko asked, slipping her hands into the pockets of her new black backless robe. She'd reluctantly accepted their help with getting new clothes so that she and Kaii didn't have to continue wearing the rags that they had worn in their captivity.

"Sure." Konan got up, tilting her head inquisitively. "What is it?"

"I need to start gaining strength back in my wings, and I'd like to have someone around to spot me." Sachiko explained, not mentioning the little detail that she would be leaping from the tallest structure or cliff that she could find.

"Are you sure your wings are well enough for that?" Konan asked after a moment, studying her closely. "You could do more damage if you rush it."

"I've been working with them every day, and I think they're ready. But that's where you come in. I have a habit of overdoing it, so if I start to overdo it or I'm not ready for it, I'd like you to stop me." Sachiko answered, smiling a bit.

Ever since the day she'd been taught, she had kept up a strict training regimen, keeping herself in tip-top shape. Though it had been difficult, she'd managed to keep up with parts of her regimen throughout her captivity so that she wouldn't be completely helpless when she finally got her chance to escape.

Unfortunately, she never really stopped when she reached her limit. She was always dead set on pushing past her limits so that she could keep improving. There was always someone bigger and someone stronger than her, and one day she was hoping to push herself to the top of the food chain.

She never wanted to be so weak again. She didn't want people to be able to take advantage of her anymore, and most of all, she didn't want there to be any chance that Kaii could be taken from her in the same way she had lost her mother.

Konan gave her a slight nod. "Very well, then." She said softly, making her way over to the front door.

Sachiko smiled and followed her, stopping only to wave at Kaii. "I'll be back soon." She promised, and then glanced at Nagato. "Would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

A mischievous smile crossed her face at the sight of Nagato's slightly panicked expression when Kaii leapt onto him and wrapped his arms around him tightly, clinging like a koala clung to trees.

Konan shut the door behind them and led the way through the village, glancing back every so often to make sure that Sachiko was keeping up.

Sachiko had to admit that it was a rather pretty village, though much different from her own. The near constant rain was strange to her, but...she found that the sound of it was rather soothing. Rain was rare in her home, and when it did rain, it was always a raging downpour, and never the soft pattering that happened in Amegakure.

As they made their way towards the training grounds, which Konan had reassured her would be empty, Sachiko wondered what it would be like to permanently live in a place like this, forsaking the duties of her own village for the freedom of this one. It was a hypothetical thought, of course, and one she would never even consider acting on, save for if her father really did end up disowning her.

A frown grew on her face as her thoughts went down darker paths at the thought of her father. She would have to tell him everything that had happened since her disappearance, including the things that she would never repeat willingly to anyone, because he was alway good at sniffing out lies and half-truths.

What concerned her most, however, was that there was a very real possibility that she and Kaii would be separated. Her father wouldn't accept him as part of their family, without first knowing the entirety of his lineage.

If there was even the tiniest possibility that Kaii was somehow related to the outcasts that lived on the very fringes of her island, then he would be cast out to live with them, and Sachiko would never see him again.

"Is something bothering you?" Konan asked, noticing Sachiko's dark expression finally as she glanced back once more.

"Ah, no. I'm good!" Sachiko gave her a beaming smile, hoping to convince her of that, while she bottled up the worst of her anxiety and fear. "Just ready to get flying again! Sorry if I look grumpy, everyone always tells me I have resting bitch face." A laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head as she told the lie. It was far from the truth. There was always a gentle smile or a roguish glint in her expression that was anything but grumpy or even gave the impression of resting bitch face.

"That's a contradiction." Konan tilted her head, a question hiding behind her pretty orange eyes. "If everyone told you that you have resting bitch face, then why did you introduce yourself as the most beautiful woman in the sky? I think that if you were called that, then you probably don't have resting bitch face."

Sachiko tilted her head, taking a moment to puzzle out her words. "I suppose you're right." She smiled slyly, picking up her pace until she was walking side by side with Konan, and linked arms with her. "It's nothing you need to worry your pretty head about."

Konan merely made a humming noise, watching the shorter woman for a moment. "Very well, then."

"Say, Konan," Sachiko began, getting a sudden idea, "I like your piercings. I think I'd like some of my own. Can you help me out with that?"

That question seemed to catch Konan somewhat off guard, and she turned her attention to Sachiko, tilting her head. "What brought that on?"

"I dunno. I guess I just want to have a little bit of fun before I go home." Sachiko replied with a smile. "Being a princess has a lot of restrictions, and I'd like to try some of the things that I won't have a chance to try again. Besides, I've always admired the piercings that some shinobi in my village have. Of course, those have a purpose other than just decoration."

"Sure, then." Konan replied, tilting her head at the sliver of honesty that Sachiko had presented her with. "We can stop somewhere on the way back, and you can choose what you want." For a moment, Konan wondered why she was being so agreeable to Sachiko's every demand, eventually settling on the reason being that there was a sadness bottled up deep in her heart. Perhaps she was also hoping to see a true smile on her face again, like the one that she had seen the day that the winged girl had saved her life.

Sachiko grinned at her, delighted to have gotten her way. "Great! Now, let's hurry! Off to the nearest cliff, please!"

Neither of them seemed to realize how their relationship would blossom, or the pain they would suffer in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sachiko stood at the edge of the cliff, peering over the edge, Konan at her side. They were a surprisingly far distance from the village, though it hadn't taken them long to get there. It was secluded, and the perfect place for Sachiko to spread her wings without risking someone else witnessing it.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Konan asked quietly, tilting her head to the side just slightly. "If your wings aren't strong enough to support you, you could seriously hurt yourself."

"There's no other way to do it, my pretty friend. This is how birds learn to fly, and I've already had to learn how to fly again a few times before. I'm an old hat at this." Sachiko smiled at her, spreading her wings out behind her in a stretch.

Sachiko's wings were still recovering, but she already had several new feathers in pastel shades of blue and pink, already losing their softness. Though she had spent a lot of time tending to her wings, her older feathers had remained a sort of ashen grey, only a little of pink blue hues rising to the surface after she had scrubbed the grime from them. Even so, they already looked much healthier than they had before.

A soft sigh escaped Sachiko's lips as she took several steps back so that she could get a running start. Then she sprinted for the edge of the cliff, flinging herself off of it without hesitation.

Once she had hurled herself far enough away from the side of the cliff and plummeted several feet, she extended her wings rapidly to catch herself, while Konan watched from the edge of the cliff, a strange expression on her face.

At first, her wings did nothing but slow her descent as some of her older feathers were ripped from them from the viciousness of the wind. Then she managed to catch a strong wind just right, only a few feet from crashing to her death on the sharp rocks below.

Sachiko soared into the air, her wings beating rapidly to propel herself higher and higher in the air. She soared higher than the side of the cliff, not yet noticing Konan's expression in her own bliss.

Her wings spread out fully and for a moment, she coasted along with the wind, enjoying the feeling of the wind blasting against her face for the first time in four years. Her heart soared, lighter than it had been in years.

After a few moments, she swerved back around towards the cliff, coasting down towards Konan. As she approached, she began to tuck her wings in a little, gaining speed.

Just before Sachiko was about to collide with Konan, she spread her wings out in full, stopping herself in her tracks. She stepped down onto the ground lightly, a wide grin painted across her face.

"Wanna go flying?" Sachiko asked, taking both of Konan's wrists gently. "We can just take a quick flight a mile that way, and come right back." She gestured towards the direction she had just come from with one wing.

Sachiko loved to fly. It was in her blood, and in her nature to want to be in the air. She usually flew alone or with her handlers, and so she wanted to fly with a friend for once. Conveniently enough, Konan could make her own wings, and could hopefully fly as well. Even if her wings were only for show, Sachiko wouldn't mind flying her around herself.

"Not today. You need to rest, and it looks like it's about to start raining again." Konan declined gently, frowning at Sachiko's crestfallen expression. A sigh escaped her, and she shook her head a little. "You're shaking."

Sachiko frowned as she realized that she was, in fact, shaking. It had been four years since she had actually flown, and she had definitely strained herself too much already today. "I guess you're right." She sighed, shuffling her feet in frustration.

With a small ripple of chakra, her wings returned to the tattoos on her back. She went over to Konan slowly and looked up at her, an expectant look in her eyes.

"What is it?" Konan asked, wondering what was wrong now.

"Will you carry me? I'm tired." Sachiko pouted up at Konan, her blue eyes wide and pleading.

"But you can walk alright on your own, can't you?" Konan was beginning to wonder why Sachiko seemed to like her so much that she would even be so shameless as to ask her to carry her.

Even so, Konan couldn't quite deny her that. There was something about Sachiko that was just so...desperate for kindness and attention that made Konan feel bad for her.

She, Nagato, and Yahiko had all asked her things about where she came from, and while she answered most of their general questions in a light-hearted manner, anytime that the questioning came too close to her own situation in her village, or the dozens of thin scars on her back, she would find a way to redirect their attention to something else, and pretend as if she hadn't heard their questions.

"Please!" Sachiko begged, taking a dramatic stumbling step forward, pretending as if she were going to fall at any given moment. "I'm light as a feather!"

"I know. I helped carry you back." Konan responded, reaching out to steady her gently. "I'll carry you, come on."

Sachiko leapt into Konan's arms, a wide grin on her face, and the pair of them headed on their way back to the village.

* * *

Sitting upon the post in front of the house that Konan shared with Nagato and Yahiko, was a bird preening its beautiful golden feathers. It looked up when Sachiko and Konan approached, squawking loudly at the sight of Sachiko.

Sachiko leapt out of Konan's arms immediately, and sprinted towards the bird. "Saya!" The delight in her voice was as clear as day, and a beautiful sound to hear.

The golden bird, Saya, squawked again, and nuzzled its beak against Sachiko's cheek gently before extending one leg, which carried a tiny scroll. Likely, it was a message from her home village.

Sachiko took the scroll from Saya's leg, rubbing her finger gently against the bird's sharp beak. She opened the scroll and scanned over it quickly, tensing more and more as she read on through what she had been sent.

"What's wrong?" Konan asked, noticing the way she tensed and the dark expression on her face.

"Son of a bitch." Sachiko flung the scroll into the ground with enough force that the impact created a small crater. Lips curled into a snarl, she didn't answer Konan, instead storming into the house.

Konan watched her go before retrieving the scroll from the ground. She opened it and began reading through it.

Sachiko immediately sought out Kaii, relieved to see that he was napping peacefully in one of the chairs in the living room, tucked in carefully. She let out a sigh of relief, ignoring Nagato's perplexed expression as she turned and went back to the room she was currently borrowing.

She slammed the door shut behind her and began to pace around the room, thinking over the letter that she had just received.

Her father was sending someone to retrieve her, which she had expected. But the particular someone that he was sending was someone that was usually only sent to hunt down the ragtag members of the group in her home country that had started a massive civil war years ago.

Hagane no Tadashi was the enforcer that her father had chosen to do his bidding. Tadashi of steel, sometimes referred to as Tadashi of the steel wings, was a cold man, only a few years older than Sachiko. He was the one person that had ever been a real match for her skills.

The fact that her father was sending Hagane no Tadashi meant nothing good. It meant that he wanted to make sure that she made it home with no chance of escaping once her instincts told her it was time to abandon ship.

Sachiko knew that she needed to go home, and her surprising sense of responsibility would make sure that she did. But she knew that once she was home, she would likely not be any better off than where she had just come from.

She had genuinely hoped that her father would react differently than this, still unwilling to believe that she was completely expendable in his eyes.

This brought another concern to the forefront of her mind; Kaii. Once her father found out about Kaii, he would not be happy, especially if it turned out that he was somehow related to any of the banished members of her country. Kaii would most likely be banished, and left to fend for himself.

Sachiko wondered for a moment if she was jumping to conclusions, but shook her head a moment later. She knew her father well enough to know how he would react to every little bit of information that she would be forced to tell him, whether she wanted to or not.

While she had never felt like the role suited her anyway, Sachiko knew what would happen to her if her father decided to strip of her royalty. She wouldn't have friends in either faction of the country, and would be left to completely fend for herself and for Kaii in a place that would be entirely hostile towards her.

A deep sigh escaped Sachiko's lips as she shut her eyes and began to come up with a plan. She was going to figure out a way out of this.

There was always a way out, and Sachiko was going to find it.


End file.
